Author in line for provincial recognition

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

For the second time in as many years, local author John Godsman, who is known for his book series Remembering Our Roots, is nominated for a Minister’s Senior Service Award.
Godsman has interviewed over 150 senior citizens in Strathmore, Wheatland County and area since 2010, interviews that have appeared as columns published in the Strathmore Times for the past seven years.
With three volumes on the shelves, his work depicts the lives of seniors living in the area, many with roots spanning decades.
His undertaking, along with his volunteer work, were noticed by former Strathmore Mayor Michael Ell, who nominated the now 82-year-old last year. While only eight of the 84 nominees received the award in 2017, all candidates received a certificate.
Unwilling to let his work go unnoticed, Strathmore town councillor Denise Peterson nominated Godsman for a second time, which means he’s now in possession of the same certificate for 2018, and continues to await the announcement of the winners later this summer.
“Our community has benefited exponentially through John’s sacrifice of time and talent,” wrote Peterson in a letter included in the application. She added that Godsman donated the profits from his second book to the Siksika Outreach School.
“His writing has brought about a greater level of respect and understanding for our community’s senior population. While a few stories might have been of interest, 160 stories form an anthropology for the ages. The local historical society, the seniors groups in our communities and the local schools have all benefited from this rich history.”
Godsman was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he grew up with one younger brother. When his 12-year career in the Royal Air Force came to an end in 1966, jobs were scarce. Therefore Godsman, his wife Anne and their three-year-old son packed up their belongings and travelled 6,500 miles to North America where the then 32-year-old thought he had a job secured. When he reached Vancouver on Canada Day in 1967, Godsman found out he was too old for a job with the department of transport, despite having a job interview and a medical examination at Canada House in London, England, and providing a letter. Eager to provide for his family, Godsman accepted a job as a fuel flow calculator at the airport, which lasted three years. He then went to a head hunter and found out he was suited best for a job dealing with the public; he subsequently answered an ad to work in the life insurance industry – a career that spanned 32 years until his retirement in 2002.
In 2000, John and Anne moved to Strathmore. By 2009, Godsman grew bored during the winter months, and when his wife gave him the book Strathmore: The Village that Moved, he was inspired by the second half of the book that provided histories on the people who lived in Strathmore in the early 1970s and 1980s.
Interested in finding out what happened to these families and what they were up to now, Godsman approached the Strathmore Standard, who took interest in the project. In 2010 he would publish his first article, and a year later he approached the Strathmore Times, and turned his research into columns.
“If I didn’t do it, nobody else would do it,” Godsman said. “As soon as the first article hit print, I was getting phone calls and people coming to me asking, ‘how do I get to be in your article?’ I really don’t think of myself as being very involved with volunteer work to be honest, but the community as a whole has been very good to Anne and I.”
Godsman is an executive member of the Happy Gang, has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 42 years, volunteers with Meals on Wheels, is a driver for Strathmore Family and Community Support Services, and is a member of Strathmore United Church. The couple has also been square dancing since 1986 and were among 960 dancers at the opening ceremonies during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. They also participated in the opening ceremonies for the World Police and Fire Games in the 1990s, and for Rotary International at Stampede Park.
While the couple chose Strathmore to retire because of its small-town feel, Godsman said it wasn’t until he published his books that people would stop him on the streets and connections formed all over town.
This year, Godsman is one of 50 nominees for the provincial award. Award recipients will be selected and notified later in the summer with a special celebration to be held at Government House in Edmonton in the fall. Until then, Godsman is filling his time at his writing desk, getting ready to work on Volume 4.
“I was told when I started this that there were 2,500 seniors in Strathmore and Wheatland County,” he said. “I’ve only written 160; where’s the rest?”